1. Introduction
This invention relates to the treatment of seafood and more particularly, to a process of treating seafood whereby heavy metal ions are removed from the seafood making the same safe for human consumption.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is known in the art, seafood such as crabs, lobsters, oysters, shrimp and various fishes such as tuna, swordfish and the like are frequently contaminated with small quantities of heavy metal ions, particularly mercury ions, which, though relatively low in concentration, are sufficiently high in concentration to render the seafood unfit or dangerous for human consumption. This problem is particularly acute with swordfish and is becoming more acute with tunafish. Attempts have been made in the prior art to remove these heavy metal ions from the seafood. However, because the seafood is unsafe for human consumption when it contains only trace quantities of the heavy metal ions, the prior art has been unsuccessful in finding a satisfactory treatment method.